Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina Shevchenko performed dominantly against Holly Holm in the main UFC event on Fox 20, out-striking and out-wrestling the former champion to a unanimous decision. It was the biggest win of her career, and the only question remains is who’s next for her? If she didn’t just recently lose to the current champion Amanda Nunes, she likely would have earned a shot at the title for her troubles (and she might still get one). However, with all the uncertainty surrounding the return of Ronda Rousey, the division might be waiting for her to receive the next opportunity. Julianna Pena might have secured the next shot with her victory over Cat Zingano at UFC 200 if Rousey isn’t ready soon. If Rousey returns and gets the first shot at Nunes, a title eliminator match between Shevchenko and Pena makes sense. If Pena gets the next shot, perhaps Shevchenko vs. Miesha Tate is the way to go?
Holly Holm
The former champ (and only woman to defeat Rousey) has gone 0-2 since accomplishing the feat, dropping bouts to Tate and Shevchenko. Holm is still one of the best women in the world at bantamweight, but the two straight losses hurt her stock a bit. She could use a bit of a rebound fight to get back into the win column before she fights Rousey, Tate, or for the belt again. A good rebound fight would be Sara McMann, while it would give McMann a chance to beat a big name. Otherwise, a match with Cat Zingano would be the best fight to make for the fans. Both have lost their last two fights and need a win, and it would be an easy sell for a main card fight on pay-per-view.
Edson Barboza
Barboza turned in another solid unanimous decision win. He now has back-to-back wins over former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and former title-challenger Gilbert Melendez. That should set him up for a title-eliminator at least. But man, the lightweight title picture is crowded right now. Khabib Nurmagomedov appears to be healthy for the first time in ages. Tony Ferguson is on a tear, but his last win was a surprisingly close call against prospect Landon Vannata. Rafael dos Anjos, who just lost his belt following a TKO loss to current champion Eddie Alvarez, will be looking for the quickest path back to his former title. Nate Diaz could be Alvarez’s potential money fight if he beats Conor McGregor again at UFC 202. And lastly, Alvarez said that featherweight champ McGregor would be “an easy fight,” so there are some sparks there. It’s anyone’s guess what happens next. But back to the point, one of these men will get the next title shot, but it probably won’t be Barboza, at least not yet. He could fight almost anyone from this list in a potential title eliminator. For the sake of predictions, my guess will be dos Anjos.
Gilbert Melendez
It’s been a rough UFC tenure for Melendez. He’s now 1-4 with the promotion, 0-2 in title fights, and has a failed drug test result on his resume. That said, it’s hard to see the UFC cutting Melendez due to his reputation and status as a top-10 lightweight (the rankings don’t reflect it at the moment, but they will once they’re updated). Bobby Green needs a win as well, as he’s coming off two losses (decision to Barboza and KO by Dustin Poirier). It would make for a good fight between lightweights who could very well be fighting for their future MMA careers. UFC Fight Night main event status? Yes.
Francis Ngannou
As many expected, Ngannou put on a dominant performance against Bojan Mihajlovic, earning the TKO just 1:34 into the fight. The rising prospect is now 3-0 in the UFC, and is ready for the next level of competition. Daniel Omielanczuk would be a good litmus test for Ngannou. Omielanczuk is coming off of an upset decision over Oleksiy Oliynyk, but isn’t unbeatable. He is durable, however, and would be a good test to see how Ngannou reacts if he doesn’t get the knockout quickly.
Bojan Mihajlovic
It looks almost as if Mihajlovic was booked to lose to Ngannou, and that’s what he did. The fact that he was given a squash match as his UFC debut should net him another shot. He could fight another 0-1 UFC prospect, Cody East, who is coming off of a TKO loss to Walt Harris. It could be a bout between two heavyweights desperate for their first UFC victory, which is almost a guarantee for sparks to fly.
Felice Herrig
Herrig ended Kailin Curran’s night in quick fashion after a rear naked choke victory just 1:59 into the first round. It was an excellent rebound following the beating that she received at the hands of Paige VanZant over a year ago. The performance means that Herrig should receive a slight step up to test the legitimacy of another prospect. Cortney Casey, who just TKO’d Cristina Stanciu impressively in her last fight, would be a good match-up for Herrig next. She’s not TOO much of a step-up from Curran, while Herrig would have the chance to test Casey as a prospect in the strawweight division.
Kailin Curran
Curran was soundly beaten by Herrig in what many expected to be a close fight. As Curran is 1-3 in the UFC, it remains to be seen if she’ll be given another crack, or will be sent to the regional circuit for more seasoning. If she sticks around for another fight, the best fight to give her would be the aforementioned Stanciu. The two are in a similar (sinking) boat; a loser leaves town match, if one hasn’t already left. It would be an exciting bout between two young, talented strawweights who haven’t quite been able to find their games.
